Whiskey Lullaby
by Girliegirl1179
Summary: They put the bottles to their heads and pulled the trigger, and finally drank away their memories. WARNING! Contains 2 Character deaths! Not my normal kind of fanfic. It is a HEA in some sense of the word. Major Tissue Warning Applies though. Sorry!


Whiskey Lullaby

**WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS THE DEATHS OF TWO MAJOR CHARACTERS! If you find the subject matter offensive please don't read! **

**TISSUE WARNING APPLIES!**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the song. Just borrowing them.

A/N: This is not my normal kind of story. I have no idea where this came from, but I heard the song tonight and after the third time on repeat this was what I was left with. I debated scrapping the whole thing, but my beta told me not too.

Please if you've never heard the song, go watch the video on youtube, before reading the story. Whiskey Lullaby – by Brad Paisley ft. Alison Krauss

Jenny: Thanks for beta'ing this even though I know it's not your cup of tea.

Angie: I know! I'm sorry, I gave you nightmares. I swear, I don't know where it came from.

* * *

Joe Morelli had dreamed of this day since he was a young boy—the day that Stephanie Plum would finally become his. If only he knew the unbearable pain his question would cause. Maybe, just maybe, he would have let her go …

The day Stephanie Plum accepted Joe's proposal was the day Ranger's soul died. He tried to hide the pain, the sense of loss. But his friends could tell that Ranger's heart was broken.

Tank spent the first few weeks trying to convince Ranger that it wasn't too late, that if Ranger would just go to her, she'd change her mind. Few knew how much Ranger truly loved Stephanie, because he'd spent years trying to deny it even to himself.

_She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette  
She broke his heart, he spent his whole life tryin' to forget_

Ranger spent the year of the engagement drinking away her memory, becoming more closed off than ever before.

_We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time  
But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind_

The night before the wedding Tank went one more time to try to convince his best friend, his brother, of what a mistake he was making. What he found upon entering the penthouse on seven would send chills down his spine the rest of his life.

_Until' the night he put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger  
And finally drank away her memory  
Life is short but this time it was bigger  
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees_

Tank found Ranger, his face down in the pillow, with a note that said, "I'll love her till I die." Tank took out his cell and called 9-1-1. Within minutes, the news had spread like wildfire.

_We found him with his face down in the pillow  
With a note that said, "I'll love her till I die"_

Upon hearing the news of Ranger's death, Stephanie demanded to be taken to Haywood. She refused to believe that her own personal Batman was gone, without seeing it with her own eyes.

Tank met her in the garage and wrapped her in his arms. "I'm so sorry, Bombshell. I tried to get him to tell you."

She was confused and not understanding Tanks words. "Tried to get him to tell me what?"

She walked into the penthouse and collapsed over his lifeless body. "Why, Ranger?" She pounded on his chest, wishing this was all a bad dream.

Tank pulled her off him so they could remove the body from the room.

When they lifted his still form off the bed, the note fell from his hand.

Stephanie picked it up and sobbed. He'd always told her that he only loved her in his own way. She'd never known until that moment that his way meant in every way.

He was buried in a family plot, beneath an old willow tree.

Steph stood off to the side, unsure if she belonged, but knowing in her soul, she had to be there.

Ranger's mother walked up to her and wrapped Stephanie in a kind embrace. "He couldn't bear the thought of life without you, but was too stubborn to tell you of his heart."

The tears fell from Steph's eyes as she said goodbye to the love of her life.

_And when we buried him beneath the willow  
The Angels sang a whiskey lullaby  
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa  
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa_

The rumors surrounding Ranger's death flew. The official report showed he was poisoned. Very few knew the true cause of death was a broken heart. Stephanie knew the truth, she'd read it in the note, and no one knew how much she blamed herself.

_The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself  
For years and years, she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath  
She finally drank her pain away a little at a time  
But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind_

Ranger's death broke something inside Stephanie. She was never able to recover from the pain. She canceled the wedding and withdrew into herself. Trying to drink her pain away a little a time, she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind.

_Until' the night She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger  
And finally drank away his memory  
Life is short but this time it was bigger  
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees_

Lula was worried about her friend. Stephanie hadn't been the same since Ranger's untimely death, and she hadn't shown up to work that morning. Lula called Tank to help her get inside Steph's apartment. The sight they found would send chills down their spines for the rest of their lives.

_We found her with her face down in the pillow  
Clinging to his picture for dear life_

They found Steph, her face down in the pillow, clinging to Ranger's picture for dear life.

The official report read poisoning, but there were a few that knew the truth. Stephanie died of broken heart, and words of love left unsaid.

Tank contacted Ranger's family, who insisted the star crossed lovers be buried together underneath the old willow.

_We laid her next to him beneath the willow  
While the Angels sang a whiskey lullaby  
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa  
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa  
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa  
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa_

Tank and Lula stood by their friends' graves, while silent tears fell from their eyes.

A cold wind blew, and Lula gasped as Stephanie ran to Ranger's outstretched arms. They kissed briefly, before waving goodbye to their dear friends and vanishing into the heavens together.

The End …

A/N: I know it's not what you are used to from me. I'm sorry! But, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The next chapter of Sacrifices is going up soon.


End file.
